38 strategies to teach el learners

Main Theme for this school year’s focus: What’s good for English Language Learners is good for all the students.This list is adapted from one developed by the Jefferson Middle School ELA Department.

1. Identify them – Step one. Know who the EL students are in your class.

2. Give them ways to show understanding in different ways that count – Sure, we assess on writing essays, but can we also assess a skill based on a 1-3 sentence submission like an exit card, blog post, or caption? How about as a visual? How ‘bout as a sound file? How about as a discussion, debate, or formal conversation? We can make rubrics for just about anything, so why not try something that isn’t just writing-focused?

3. Keep them close – Try to put as many EL students as possible in the tables closet to you or the front of the room. If they can’t be right next to the teacher, at least put them in a functioning group, surrounded by achievers + hopefully a person they would like to sit with. (see strategy #14)

4. Notice the top 3 errors they all share and teach to those – It’s hard to individualize attention for every kid, but if you can identify the top 3-5 errors they all tend to make and then weave lessons around those into your class lessons, then at least you will have some targeted lessons in the bag.

5. BLOG – Blogging means they don’t have to raise their hand in public. In addition, a teacher can create a prompt easily based on responding not only to a piece of reading, but also to a picture or a video. What’s turned in can be anywhere from 1 sentence to 5 paragraphs. It’s up to you, but it definitely seems to demystify participation for many of them.

6. Student Choice – Let them choose the book they get credit reading. Let them choose from a few prompts to answer. Let them choose the question they respond to. Etc…

7. Give them Accessible Scaffolds – Have them glue sentence stems into their writers note books. This can be for leveled questions, etc....

8. Have them work with partners - Working with partners and reading/talking about we are learning or what they have written about helps them retain information and learn how to get better in communicating their knowledge.

9. Have them use T-T-W, the think, talk, write strategy

10. Create opportunities for “small responses” - "Think Marks" Book marks are where they can write questions, thoughts, vocabulary......

11. Use the "Say Something" strategy – This is where the students are given sentence starters to help them comment on what they are reading before, during, and after.

12. Use cloze paragraphs to help scaffold writing.

13. Key vocabulary review - Model the correct pronunciation and have the whole class repeat it chorally (this is good for our EOs as well, since sometimes they don't know how to properly pronounce the words either).

14. Heterogeneous grouping -- also seating an English learner next to another student who speaks the same language.

16. Use a word of the day to teach high-level vocabulary - Be sure to use these words on a regular basis and to remind students of the meaning and simpler synonyms we often use to mean the same thing.e.g. "The exposition is the word we use to describe the beginning of a story. So, what happens in the exposition of "Seventh Grade?"17. Use BrainPop to review concepts - Have students take notes from the video, as needed. Use the close captioning option so students can hear and read the words as the video progresses.

18. Use Listening and Reading Simultaneously - Use the audio CDs to listen to the story as students follow along in their texts or IARs. Encourage them to check out Play Always (preloaded audio books) from our library along with corresponding novel.

19. Offer choice, but make it limited - Provide a default option. Choice is great, but many of our weaker students just want to know how to begin.

20. Provide first sentences or paragraphs of writing assignments - Letting them put something on the paper is a big encouragement.

21. Allow students to parrot the teacher's answers - If they can do that much, they've likely been paying attention.

22. Find time to teach grammar explicitly - Principal parts of verbs is an area that deserves special attention. When we hear someone say "the car is broke" or "I should have went" we ask whether he paid attention during English class, yet many of the errors adults make involve similar problems with verbs.

23. Provide Model Pieces - Post correct examples of work, color-coded when possible. It's a great time saver when kids show up saying they don't know how to do an assignment.

24.Provide a Print Rich Environment- Have a classroom library with a wide variety of reading materials. Picture books, Comic Books, Graphic Novels, Young Adult Novels, Classics, Poetry, Weird Science, etc. etc. Bring in a daily newspaper and subscribe to student friendly periodicals such as Sports illustrated For Kids. Encourage them to read whatever strikes their fancy even if it seems that it is not challenging them. Once you get them hooked on your library, then you can direct them to more challenging materials.

25. Dictionaries- Teach them how to use them and that they are not all created equal. Have several types in the classroom-picture dictionaries, collegiate dictionaries, English-Learner dictionaries. Show them some reputable online dictionaries. Encourage their use. Create a homework assignment that requires dictionary use. Model using them yourself regularly.

26 Color Code-Use color to locate text structure, find verbs, adjectives, literary techniques at work. “Cloud the similes and make the descriptive adjectives green.” Use color to get them interacting with text.

27Props and Visual Cues- Point at things, use the document camera; get props from a yard sale. A giant ear for “listen”, a golden key for “this is important”, a pirate’s hook for narrative attention getters.

28. Speak idiomatically-Use idioms and figurative language in your speech and draw attention to it when you do. “Metaphorically speaking, we need to get a fire under us to finish this assignment before the bell rings. 'Get a fire under us' means..."

29. Give them a heads up - Don’t "require" EL students to talk on the spot. Instead, give them fair warning. Tell them that tomorrow we're doing this, this and that, and then let them know that you will ask them two questions about it. Or ask a stronger student to answer, and then ask the EL student to repeat what that student said. Ask the EL student if he agrees. This way, you can indirectly get the student to participate in discussions without all the anxiety.

30. Let them use their expertise - Encourage Spanish speakers to use their knowledge of the language in figuring out meanings of new vocabulary. There is a lot of correlation and similarities that they don't realize.

31. Utilize role-playing - Role playing is great to use and it doesn't have to take a lot of class time. It's fun for everyone and EL students can "see" what they just read. You can also ask for students to illustrate on the board.

32. Encourage parental involvement - Many EL parents still don't understand the American educational system. Something as simple as reading a report card or grade sheet is new to them. They may not even know what classes their children are taking. Ask students to get a test signed or important assignments signed. Make it a homework assignment that parents must write a comment about their understanding of the test/assignment. Encourage parents to write in their own language (student will translate, and they usually are very honest). This bridge in communication makes students more accountable because now they know that their parents are involved and parents have a better understanding of what's going on.

33. Compare their learning to what they recognize - When teaching the grammar/mechanics of writing, ask students to compare it to their native language (not all students are literate, but for those who are). Sometimes if they are aware of the differences or similarities, then English grammar will make more sense. Teachers don't have to be bilingual necessarily, but if they are aware of some of the common rules of Spanish/Chinese, it might help. Just ask them something like, "Well in Spanish, would the verb go here or there? How would you make this verb past tense? In English, most of the time, you just add 'ed', but there are some exceptions." Then ask them to think about it in Spanish. This can work for Chinese, or any language. Again, the teacher doesn't have to know the language, but have students be aware.

34. Have them think and write in their first language to fill in gaps – If there is a word or phrase that must be used to enhance the writing, but the student can only write it in her native language, let her do so. We want to develop fluency of thought. We don't want the student to give up because she's stuck on a word or phrase. This is true for using the bilingual electronic dictionaries. Tell students to only use it the last five or ten minutes of an assignment. Write whatever they can in English and leave blanks for the words/phrases they don't know. Then they can look it up later. Otherwise, they'll look up every other word.

35. Have them create samples on/at the board – Using the new activeboards or using a document camera/computer, students can come up and write, click/drag, label, color, highlight, etc. on the board. This helps check for understanding and its FUN!

36. Find small group/one-on-one time – after teaching a lesson and sending off the kids to break out into small groups or work independently, pull the EL’s and make sure they understand the lesson, and, if not, find out what they didn’t understand. By working with a small group, even if it's only for a few minutes once or twice a week, you slowly gain an understanding of how much they understand from your lessons and what things you need to go through more thoroughly.

37. Use visuals - By having students draw pictures to represent vocabulary or key terms it helps them visualize the word or the concept better. For some EL’s they can express themselves better through pictures than words.

38. Provide student samples - we can give kids directions and rubrics and tell them what a 5 paper looks like and the components that are necessary, but showing them samples of a real 5 paper from former students and comparing it to a 2, 3, or 4 paper has real power. Let them dissect it to help them become better writers. By using former papers they aren’t judging each other so they won't have to worry about hurting each other's feelings or getting their own feelings hurt if there are lots of errors to recognize. It is also a good model for them to refer back to and compare their own writings to.

strategies TO COMMUNICATE WITH families of el learners

This abridged list is courtesy of Lisa Dabbs, consultant for The Eva Longoria Foundation.1. Talk to parents before something bad happens. Establish a positive relationship with the families so that might help you later if necessary.2. Find a parent that can act as an informational go-to for other EL learners in your classroom.3. Host a coffee at a parent's home with a parent helping to translate. Many EL families are not comfortable coming to school for information.4. Every student has digital access. Make sure that you have a way to contact that student, to push out information, reminders, announcements, and congratulations after the school bell rings. 5. Find a way for the student to ask you questions not during class time (email, after school, before school, etc...)